[Analysis of clinicopathological, tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis parameters in adenocarcinoma of the gastric cardia]

Evaluation of MMP2 and Caspase-3 expression in 107 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma and its association with prognostic factors

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), including its variants and widely varying behavior, constitutes about 80% of all thyroid malignancies. Increased knowledge regarding molecular alterations has led to attempts to identify diagnostic or prognostic factors for a reliable preoperative approach to the classification of patients according to risk of recurrence. In this study, 107 cases of PTC with known histological properties, including vascular or capsular invasion, were assessed for expression of MMP2 and Caspase-3 using immunohistochemistry. Considering 10% as a cutoff to discriminate cases with invasive behavior from the non-invasive group, there was no relationship between expression of MMP2 or Caspase-3 in tumor cells and the presence of capsular invasion (p=0.45 and 0.64, respectively), as well as for the expression of Caspase-3 and vascular invasion (p=0.43). In case of MMP2, a borderline correlation was found between the positive reaction of tumor cells with the presence of vascular invasion (p=0.05). So the evaluation of MMP2 in thyroid PTC appears to be of some benefit to the prediction of tumor behavior while Caspase-3 as a marker of prediction seems to be of no use.

Cytophotometric expression of Caspase-3 in papillary thyroid carcinoma in nodular goiter colloid

OBJECTIVE

To describe quantitative cytophotometric expression of the marker caspase-3 in colloid goiter and in papillary carcinoma of the thyroid, comparing the immunoexpression between them.

METHODS

An immunohistochemistry study has been made on the protein caspase-3 in 17 of paraffin blocks of papillary carcinoma of the thyroid and 20 cases of colloid goiter, using SAMBA 4000 ® (System of Microscopic Analysis of Automatic Search), aiming analysis of the two variables: marker index and optical density.

RESULTS

Statistic analysis indicated a significant difference for marker index between colloid goiter and papillary carcinoma, being this difference larger in the carcinoma. Significant difference in optical density hasn't been found. For colloid goiter, the estimated correlation coefficient between the marker index and optical density was 0,72, indicating the rejection of the null hypothesis (p <0,001), affirming that positive and significant association exists between them. For the papillary carcinoma of the thyroid, the same correlation was 0,34 and so, it is not possible to affirm that there's an association between them.

CONCLUSION

For colloid goiter there is a positive and significant association between the two variables - marker index and optical density -, while for the papillary carcinoma, this is not proved. The quantitative analysis for caspase-3 demonstrates that apoptosis is larger in the papillary carcinoma of the thyroid than in colloid goiter.

P53 Arg72Pro polymorphism in gastric cancer patients

INTRODUCTION

Polymorphism in codon 72, exon 4 of p53 may alter apoptosis and cancer progression.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

P53 Arg72Pro genotype was assessed by PCR from 84 gastric cancer patients and 185 controls. The control group was comparable in sex, race, age, smoking, and alcohol intake to the cancer group.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

There was no difference among the frequency of the alleles or genotypes between the groups. P53 Pro/Pro was associated to a lower risk of metastatic disease (p = 0.02) but not to lymph nodes metastasis or worst prognosis. Arg/Arg or Arg/Pro genotype may be associated to metastatic disease.

Variação de peso, grau de escolaridade, saneamento básico, etilismo, tabagismo e hábito alimentar pregresso em pacientes com cancêr de estômago

RACIONAL: Cerca de 35% dos casos de câncer estão envolvidos com fatores advindos da dieta e de outros como o álcool, o fumo, a luz solar, agentes químicos e infecções por vírus. O câncer de estômago é o segundo tipo de câncer mais diagnosticado no mundo, sendo responsável por cerca de 9,9% de todos os diagnósticos e cerca de 12,1% das mortes. OBJETIVOS: Comparar o peso corpóreo atual e habitual, grau de escolaridade, saneamento básico, tabagismo, etilismo e freqüência pregressa de consumo de alimentos entre pacientes com câncer de estômago e população controle. MÉTODO: Setenta pacientes com câncer gástrico foram pareados a outros 70 indivíduos sem diagnóstico de neoplasia. Foram coletados peso, altura, informações sobre grau de escolaridade, saneamento básico, tabagismo e etilismo e preenchido um questionário de freqüência alimentar pregressa. RESULTADOS: Dos 75 pacientes elegíveis para o estudo, 42 eram homens, com média de idade de 59,5 anos. O grupo de pacientes com câncer apresentou menor peso e índice de massa corporal atual do que o grupo controle. Em relação ao grau de escolaridade, verificou-se que, no grupo de pacientes com câncer, 21 indivíduos nunca ingressaram na escola e dos que estudaram, cerca de 55% não conseguiram concluir o primeiro grau. Nesse grupo, 32,9% dos indivíduos tiveram acesso ao saneamento básico e 37,1% à eletricidade no passado; no grupo controle, esse percentual foi de 68,6% para cada uma das variáveis. No grupo caso, 58,6% dos pacientes moraram na zona rural, enquanto no grupo controle apenas 7,1%. No grupo caso, 65.7% eram fumantes versus 44.3%, no grupo controle. Observou-se também que os pacientes com câncer fumaram por período maior. O alcoolismo também foi mais freqüente entre os pacientes com câncer (45% versus 19%). Verificou-se que, entre os pacientes com câncer, houve maior consumo de alimentos ricos em sal, condimentos, nitratos, gordura animal saturada, carboidratos complexos, açúcar refinado e salgados fritos, comparado ao grupo controle. CONCLUSÃO: Os doentes com câncer gástrico, quando comparados ao grupo controle, apresentaram: perda de peso, queda da qualidade de vida verificada pelo baixo acesso a saneamento básico, eletricidade e escolaridade, residiram predominantemente em área rural, alta incidência de alcoolismo e alta ingestão de alimentos ricos em gorduras, alimentos industrializados e álcool.